Live in the Moment
by Crow's Gamble
Summary: In an earlier time, Koki Kariya and Yodai Higashizawa form a pact and become partners in order to surpass the Reapers' Game they have found themselves suddenly thrust into. A few of the events that precede the Game over Shibuya's fate between the Composer and Conductor in the main storyline.
1. Mediums

**Disclaimer: I do not own The World Ends With You. This is a fanfiction, hence why it exists on this site rather than in a published novel.**

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**Day 1: Mediums**

The teenaged boy woke up on the ground at the scramble crossing of Shibuya. He blinked away the grogginess and confusion that was rapidly consuming his thoughts. What was he doing here? All of a sudden, his cell phone buzzed a few times. He glanced at it. A message from an unknown sender. _Reach 104. You have 60 minutes. Failure will result in erasure. _Pain suddenly shot through his hand. Looking down, he was startled to notice that his hand had numbers, red and with a carved appearance, ticking down. Four digits. 59:59…59:58…59:57.

All of a sudden, a bunch of red marks appeared. A swarm of creatures escaped through these marks, as though they were portals and it was a natural occurrence. The man observed them intrigued. They resembled green frogs, but each one was the size of a small dog. One hopped up and kicked him in the arm with a strangely jointed leg.

"Ouch," he exclaimed, his grip slackening causing his phone to nearly slide between his fingers. The toads growled at them. He bared his teeth at them.

"You want to dance, assholes?" He asked, extending his hands. They began hopping on him, only to be knocked off by numerous, well-placed strokes. Unfazed, they continued their attack. "Damn, persistent buggers," he muttered, looking around. There was a statue of a dog where people seemed to be converging. The boy ran towards it. The toads hopped after him.

"What's with these damn frogs?" He yelled out, kicking one on his heel in the head with a well-placed blow that served merely to stun the beast. The strange thing was that most of these critters were specifically targeting _him_…

"Hmm, you know, I've never personally considered frog legs to be much of an appetizer." Wheeling around, the boy beheld an extremely large man with a tangled head of dreadlocks, a white coat with dark pants, and a belt that supported a metallic ram's head. He seemed to have his own problems with the amphibious onslaught as well. "It will be a lot easier to take care of these stir-fries if we forge a pact."

"Not sure what you mean, but I'm game."

The giant grinned. "Impatient one, aren't you? My name is Yodai Higashizawa."

"My name's Koki Kariya. Nice to meet ya!" Without warning, the duo experienced a surge of understanding as their thoughts synced up. The frogs came to a sudden halt to observe the light that suddenly protruded from the two humans' bodies.

"Whoa, freaky," Kariya mused.

"Delectable," Higashizawa stated.

"Well," Kariya looked at his hands after the light dimmed down and finally vanished. "What now?"

"You should have some pins in your pockets!" Higashizawa said. "Just pull them out and tap into them."

"Tap into them?"

"I don't know... I saw another guy that was getting attacked by those frogs using them…but they don't do anything when I try."

"Me either," Kariya said, frustrated as the pins he gripped failed to produce any otherworldly effects. The frogs continued to bombard him, throwing themselves against him. "Shit, what now?"

"Find a medium!" Higashizawa hollered back. Kariya stared at him. He must have doubled his normal size. His belt buckle was glowing intensely and he was thrashing on the toads that attacked them. In a matter of minutes, they were all completely squashed.

"Never seen that before," Kariya muttered. He felt completely useless. Mediums? The stupid pins obviously didn't help. Nothing more than a fashion accessory. He could not give up his search though; more frogs were appearing.

"You need to find a medium before the pins can do anything!" Higaashizawa said, swinging at the nearest frog with vigor. "For me, my buckle did the trick!"

"A medium..." Kariya whispered, focusing on all of his accessories, but to no avail.

"Kariya, we're in hot water! This is pretty difficult to do single-handedly!" Higashizawa was indeed starting to discover his weakness; the time it took him to smash one frog gave the rest of the pack an opening to exploit.

"Right, right," Kariya quickly began trying to focus his energies on other aspects of himself. His glasses? Nothing. Shoes? Nothing. Fists? Nothing. Kariya swore under his breath.

"Guess the bastards in charge of this thing expect me to make the lint in my pockets a weapon or some shit," he muttered angrily, searching through his pockets desperately. Surprised, he realized that he had a bean paste lollipop carefully wrapped up in his left pant leg. Instinctively, he unwrapped it and stuck it in his mouth. At this, sparks crackled around his body. Higashizawa stared at him.

"So food works for YOU?" He asked, somewhat affronted. Kariya grinned.

"Sorry big guy, but I guess now we can move past the appetizers!" He reached into his pocket and grabbed the first pin he could find. The back of the pin said "Hounder Magnum." Gripping it, Kariya directed the sparks out in front of him, sending them forth in three different directions. The various frogs squealed as they succumbed to a shared weakness for electricity.

"Incredible," Higashizawa muttered.

"Incredible is right," an irritable voice spoke softly. Wheeling around, Kariya and Higashizawa beheld a woman with long blonde hair, a black costume that resembled that of a maid, and thin black specs.

"Hey, Higashizawa, looks like we just found our entre," Kariya laughed. The stranger did not seem amused.

"Entre? Hardly. I am Mitsuki Konishi, the Game Master. You'd be wise to respect that," she icily replied.

"Our apologies," Higashizawa cut in before Kariya could piss her off anymore. "Ms. Konishi, please tell us, what is all of this?"

"You are in the Reapers' Game," she replied, "which is where people from the Realground go after they "die" (Konishi air quoted this for some reason) to receive another chance at life. An encore as it were."

"So we're dead?" Kariya asked blankly.

"That is how you would be referred to in the RG, yes," Konishi explained. "Now I must be off; you two behave. Players would be wise not to agitate the Reapers." With this final bit of advice, black tribal-like wings protruded out of her shoulders and began flapping, and she soared over them. Kariya and Higashizawa watched her leave.

"Cute panties!" Kariya called after her. Her face went red in midair, as if she could not believe what she just heard, and she hovered for a second in shock.

"I was going to let you two off light," she said, "but I think I would prefer getting rid of you monkies here and now!" Pointing her finger at them, a sound wave vibrated through the air, screeching through the duo's ears. "Enjoy the Noise," she called after them. As Konishi flew out of sight, a large shadow fell over the duo.

"You really like to stir up the pot, don't you," Higashizawa muttered spitefully. Kariya grinned.

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy the view." He frowned, realizing the shadow was growing smaller. "What is that up there?" As if to answer his question, a pair of red kangaroos smashed down into the ground from the sky, barely missing the Players who somehow sidestepped the incoming blow. Nevertheless, the duo was knocked off their feet.

"Those boomers," Kariya jumped to his feet, sending sparks toward them. It only reached their afterimages as the two Noise had once again gone airborne.

"Get ready," Higashizawa shouted. The two tensed and dove out of the way as the kangaroos once again destroyed the ground around them. Somehow, plenty of people were walking by the scene without noticing anything.

"Recover!" Kariya yelled, but the Noise were up in the skies again. "Shit!" He cursed as the attempt to go on the offensive was once again thwarted by the boomers' immediate reaction timing.

"Hey Kariya, get over here. I've got an idea," Higashizawa said.

The Noise had risen so high that they were completely out of sight. They could see the Players, however, and what a sight awaited them! Higashizawa had Kariya standing on top of his broad shoulders, stacked together as one target. As the shadows began getting smaller, Higashizawa bent his legs.

"NOW!" Kariya screamed. Higashizawa jumped with all his might, barely avoiding the powerful landing that would have surely proven a fatal injury had he remained stationary. Kariya jumped off his shoulders at this exact instance in the opposite direction, avoiding the shock that staying on the ground would have caused. The two Noise realized their own downfall as he pointed his palm at them.

"Die." Their brains exploded as Kariya soared above them, electricity penetrating their heads. He tucked into a roll as he tumbled to the ground, jumping to his feet as soon as he found the proper footing. The Noise stood on their feet for a few moments before falling to the ground.

"All right!" Kariya clenched his fist in triumph.

"Quick!" Higashizawa looked at his hand. "We've only got 15 minutes left! We've gotta get to the 104 building!"

"Oh, damn! Let's bounce!" Kariya yelled. The two took off running in a full sprint towards 104. For such a large guy, Higashizawa could hold his own in a race. As they passed through the scramble crossing, they ran into an invisible barrier.

"What the fudge?" Higashizawa cried as he bounced off the wall. "What is this?"

"Not a clue," Kariya pulled out his bean paste lollipop curiously. "Maybe that guy knows." He jammed a thumb in the direction of the one man who seemed to be noticing them. He was donning a red hoodie which snuggly covered his head. He looked a lot like a drug dealer, if the stereotype were to dictate his profession, although he had a pair of tribal-like wings that was disconcerting. He was watching their frustration with amusement.

"Want past this wall? You have to take care of these Noise." With the snap of a finger, sound waves emitted from his palm, attracting three silvery wolves with blue paws and tails.

"Let's make mincemeat out of these guys," Higashizawa said, his belt glowing in anticipation.

"Well put, big guy," Kariya grinned, twirling his medium in his hands. Electricity flickered between his fingers. He aimed his fingers at the wolves and let sparks fly. A single wolf dashed to the left at an impressive speed while the other two sped off to the right. The left-sided wolf was clipped in the shoulder, but otherwise, the Noise were relatively unharmed. Gigantic Higashizawa was aiming punch after punch at the wolves, but they were avoiding it with relative ease; one was able to sneak pasts his swinging fists and bite into his leg with jagged teeth.

"Shit! I'm being eaten by my dinner!" He groaned loudly. Kariya laughed, despite the severity of the situation.

"Hey, Higashizawa, think we can push these guys back?"

"What are you getting at?" Higashiza asked as he grabbed the wolf by the neck and began to beat it.

"The ground conducts electricity right? What happens if these guys step on it?"

"They get baked?" Higashizawa rubbed his chin, providing the wolf enough leeway to escape his grasp. "Let's try it." Increasing the wingspan of his swings, he began moving forward, causing the wolves to cautiously step back. Kariya jumped into the air, aiming an electrical blast towards the ground behind them. In stark opposition to the Players' expectations, the wolves were immediately blasted from their backsides. Kariya and Higashizawa both stared at them.

"Didn't expect that to happen," Kariya said, eyebrow raised.

"Effective though; do it again!" Higashizawa prodded. Kariya gathered his energies together, but to no avail.

"Damn, I need some recovery time," he muttered. A wolf tackled him in rebuttal.

"At least we've got a weapon now," Higashizawa replied, smashing down on the wolf that had knocked back Kariya. It whimpered and recognizing its singed shoulder, Kariya knew it was near its breaking point.

"Gotcha!" He threw an electrical blast at the wolf pinned under Higashizawa's fist. It shrieked and collapsed to the ground. The other two wolves exchanged a glance and began to howl.

"What are they doing?" Higashiza asked. His question seemed to be answered by a low rumbling. The ground slightly rose in a line, trailing from about twenty feet north of Higashizawa. Kariya did not realize what was happening up until it was about five feet away from his partner.

"Higashizawa…GET OUT OF THE WAY!" He roared. Higashizawa looked down alarmed and dove as a pair of powerful claws sprung from the ground, a golden shrew catapulting from below. He might have dodged this potential fatal blow, but now the vicious wolves were attacking his undefended flank. Kariya growled and blasted the nearest one between the ribs. It yelped and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, this momentary distraction gave the shrew the opportunity to crawl back into its hole and resume its vengeful tunneling.

"Kariya, you concentrate on the wolves, and I'll take care of the shrew!" Higashizawa exclaimed.

"Gotcha," Kariya said. Knowing he could trust his partner, he concentrated solely on the snarling prowlers circling around him. Snipping at his heels, he performed a backflip and knocked one in the jaw with his foot. It yelped, but tackled him, feet kicking at his face. He caught the wolf by the feet, and despite the claws scarring deep into his skin, he grinned with malice.

Higashizawa followed the shrew's tunnel patiently, staying light on his feet, so as not to disturb its growing sense of security. Higashizawa had a hunch that it detected people by combining its excellent memory (when its head is above ground) with its ability to sense others above it by the slight tremors in the ground that people create when stepping. To combat this, Higashizawa had taken a giant leap towards a number of scattered objects, guaranteeing that his heavy landing in a new location had secured the shrew's startled attention. Picking up street signs and ripping parts off cars, he gradually threw them in the opposite direction as he dragged his feet after the shrew. The shrew, with its sharp senses, could still feel a slight tremor above it, but the heavy items landing a few feet away were what really had hooked its attention. Drilling upwards from the ground, it sprung up in anticipation of a heavy target. Instead, it found itself fooled as its claws struck a red car door. Turning its head, Higashizawa's enormous fist bashed it into the ground. Turning triumphantly towards Kariya, Higashizawa beheld a gruesome picture.

Kariya had caught a wolf by the limbs and split it in half, grabbing both of its jaws with his bare hands and pulling it apart with electricity enhancing the effectiveness of his physical prowess. Its frightened comrade had tried to retreat, but Kariya jumped up and attacked the ground, causing it to blow to smithereens with the ground it stood on. It was raining bits of wolf by the time Higashizawa had finally extirpated the shrew. His partner was still holding half a wolf, panting with an expression of pure adrenaline on his face. Higashizawa had never seen someone look more alive.

"Kariya, we need to go. Three minutes left…" He said.

"Ah, shit!" Kariya tossed the wolf corpse aside and turned to the red-cloaked stranger restricting their progress. He looked terrified and was pointing at Kariya with a mixture of fear and respect.

"Are you really a Player?" He whispered.

"Yup, now take down this frickin' wall!"

"You were so vicious…" The man muttered to no one in particular.

"You goin' anywhere with this?" Kariya asked. The stranger snapped his fingers defeated.

"Mission complete. Wall clear," he said, though Kariya and Higashizawa were rushing past him so fast that they didn't even notice. As they made it past the final obstacle, Kariya nervously watched the numbers on his hand go down. 6…5…4…3…2…1…The numbers disappeared.

"We did it!" Kariya fell to his knees in joy. He had been certain they were goners. Wiping the dust off of his specs, he looked up at Higashizawa and grinned. Higashizawa extended his hand and Kariya gripped it firmly. And then they both blacked out.

_Konishi stood before the Conductor, trembling before him in the face of what she considered to be an absolute failure. She had attacked every Player with stray Noise in addition to the default mission intended to effectively seal off any newbies from succeeding. Two pairs of Players had breached her trap, ruining her perfect one-day kill plan. _

"_Konishi, you seem nervous," Megumi Kitaniji mused, rhythmically tapping his foot to music that only he could hear floating out of his headphones. _

"_My incompetence is already evident," Konishi replied, hanging her head in shame. It was not only her first day as Game Master; it was her first day as an Officer. The rank alone stood as testament to her experience, but she felt significantly belittled that she had allowed four puny Players to slide through her snare. _

"_Settle down," Kitaniji soothingly replied. "It was an impressive first day. You mustn't set such high expectations for yourself."_

"_Thank you sir," she bowed. "What was it you wished to speak to me about?" _

"_The surviving Players…they seem full of potential, and judging by their entry fees, they would make perfect Reapers."_

"_You think so, sir?" Konishi asked. Sure they were good, but no Reaper had ever heard the Conductor plan of recruiting Reapers on the first day of the Game. Did they really have so much potential? "Well, I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you sir, but they will not escape erasure this week…" _

"_Oh, by all means!" Kitaniji grinned. "If they cannot escape the Game's mastermind, then they have no business in joining the Reaper ranks. I expect nothing but the best from you."_

_Konishi bowed and took her leave. Learning that Kariya and Higashizawa had survived had come as quite a shock to her. Higashizawa had shown her the respect and potential that she would like and expect of Reaper underlings, but Kariya had a…disturbing presence. He had the feel of a demon, if such things truly existed, and the intellect of the world's most devious bastard. 'I won't let him survive,' Konishi swore. Kitaniji just chuckled to himself as the Game Master faded into the shadows._

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**Author's Note: What you guys think? A younger and more reckless Kariya partnered with Higashizawa, Konishi as a new officer, and a plausible backstory from the main storyline. I am only planning to make seven or eight chapters for this series, but they will be longer than the chapters from my current other TWEWY series, Choose the World You See. I have several favorite characters from the game, but the Players seem pretty well-covered, and I would rather explore the Reapers. Review and follow if you guys enjoyed! **

**Crow**


	2. Pins

**Day 2: Pins**

The Players' biological alarm clocks woke the duo up, not even a minute apart, though perhaps it was more the result of a Reapers' Game mechanism that they were roused together as they fainted together. Kariya stretched his arms back and rubbed the sleep out from his eyes as he stood up.

"Mornin'," he looked down at Higashizawa. "How ya doin'?"

"Starving," Higashizawa grunted as he too rose to his feet.

"Well, let's go get some grub," Kariya said. "Doesn't seem as though our mission has arrived yet." Higashizawa nodded in agreement, and together, the two set out to find a meal. As Shibuya locals, both were fairly familiar with the town, and Kariya in particular frequented their current location.

"We're at Tipsy Tose Hall right now. If we go this way for a bit, there is a great Mexican restaurant nearby," he informed Higashizawa.

"Mexican, huh? I could definitely go for that," Higashizawa licked his lips.

"Not only that, I need to get some more bean paste lollipops and I know Mexican Dog has some." Higashizawa palmed his face with his hand.

"You're right! What would happen if the Noise attacks us while you don't have a medium?"

"Then I'd be royally fuc…oh! Sr. Kikuchi!" Kariya started waving to a man passing by. He did not notice the duo and kept walking. "That's rude," Kariya muttered, trailing the familiar man.

"He doesn't seem like the most tasteful gentleman," Higashizawa commented as he followed his partner.

"He really is…I don't know why he's ignoring me," Kariya pondered. He shouted Kikuchi's name a few more times, but to no avail. Trekking after him, his restaurant quickly came into sight. Kariya noticed a white skull incrusted above the sign of Kikuchi's business, and wondered with curiosity how long that had been there. Entering Mexican Dog, the man's continence changed as Kariya and Higashizawa entered behind him.

"Bienvenido! Oh, Sr. Kariya! So good to see you again," Kikuchi beamed, causing Kariya to raise his eyebrow.

"We've been right behind you saying your name for several minutes now." Kikuchi looked genuinely surprised.

"Oh, really? Lo siento muchachos…I'm still a little bit sleepy. I hope I didn't offend you…"

"Nah, it's fine," Higashizawa interjected before Kariya could pursue the matter. "What do you have to eat? We're starving!" Kikuchi's face lit up.

"No one can make a better hot dog than me. Especially if you like chili dogs!"

"Give me four," Higashizawa relished, "and one cola please." Laughing wildly, the purveyor started setting some frankfurters on a grill.

"What would you like, Sr. Kariya?" He asked.

"A hot dog with some ketchup and a glass of orange juice." Kariya replied. "Oh," he remembered as Kikuchi was pouring him a cup, "and ten bean paste lollipops, please."

"Still love your lollis, huh?" Kikuchi laughed, reaching into a drawer and retrieving Kariya's favorite snack. Kariya gratefully set the proper currency on the counter, observing Higashizawa eagerly pacing in anticipation of his food. After a few minutes, Kikuchi set the duo's food on the table.

"Looks delicious," Higashizawa inhaled deeply with his eyes closed in ecstasy. "Let's dig in."

The duo clapped their hands together in prayer. "Gochisou Sama Deshita! (Thank you for the food!)" They exclaimed before stuffing the hot dogs into their mouths. Savoring the perfectly grilled dogs, the Players were content as they ate for the first time since the Reapers' Game began. As Higashizawa stuffed the last of his four chili dogs down his mouth, he jerked his hand away in pain as a timer appeared on his hand. Turning to his partner, he saw that Kariya had already pulled out his phone to inspect the message for the day.

"What do you think it means?" He asked, showing Higashizawa the message._ Head to the place where everyone sees everything. Defeat the depicted Noise. You have 120 minutes. Failure will result in erasure. _Higashizawa dabbed his lips with a napkin before he turned to Kariya. "My guess would be that we head to the highest point in the city."

"That can't be right," Kariya frowned. "Place where everyone sees everything? There isn't one specific all-encompassing vantage point in the city. There's gotta be something we're missing."

"If you're missing something," Kikuchi interjected, "the large televisions at the scramble crossing have a lost and found report list every few hours." Kariya and Higashizawa stared at each other for a moment before they stood up instantly, Higashizawa's bulky frame knocking the stool he was sitting on over.

"Puta!" Kikuchi swore, rushing to help Higashizawa; an unnecessary gesture as Higashizawa lifted his seat back up with one hand and calmed his flustered host with the other.

"Sorry about that!" Higashizawa exclaimed, "but we've dined and now we've gotta dash!"

"Keep the tip!" Kariya threw a 500 yen pin on the table which a baffled Kikuchi picked up as the two Players scrambled out the door. They heard a scream behind them and despite the urgency to complete the mission, Kariya looked back and saw that Kikuchi had fallen to the ground with a horrified expression on his face. "Higashizawa, hold on a sec! Something's up with Sr. Kikuchi." They ran back inside which only enhanced Kikuchi's horror.

"What's wrong, sir?" Higashizawa asked him, to which Kikuchi scooted back away from him.

"You…you…you stepped outside and disappeared!" Pure terror filled his voice. Kariya palmed his face.

"That's right! We're dead!"

"Oh, yeah!" Higashizawa laughed. "That explains why he didn't hear you when we were following him earlier."

"Doesn't explain how he can see us now though," Kariya frowned as he jammed a thumb in Kikuchi's direction. "Or, for that matter, how we can be hungry when we're dead."

"Are you haunting me?" Kikuchi exclaimed.

"Maybe being Players in the UG doesn't necessarily make us ghosts," Kariya deduced, ignoring Kikuchi.

"So what, we have a corporal form when we are planning to buy something? That's ridiculous," Higashizawa laughed. Even Kariya laughed at the absurdity of it, but the reality of the situation is that Kikuchi was only aware of them within the boundaries of his restaurant. Unless…

"Wait a sec!" Kariya exclaimed, running out the door. Kikuchi whimpered as Higashizawa followed his partner and the duo once again escaped the purveyor's gaze.

Kariya stood outside carefully examining the skull he had noticed earlier. "Look familiar?" He asked Higashizawa who instantly reached into his pocket and pulled out his Player pin.

"The symbol for the Reapers' Game?"

"Bingo! Looks like places marked with these decals are where we can shop and eat," Kariya said satisfied.

"Food for thought, Kariya, we've gotta go!" Higashizawa pulled Kariya away from his inspection. "Good thing we stopped here though!"

"Right! We know where we need to be thanks to Sr. Kikuchi!" The duo took off in a dead sprint towards Molco, coming to a grinding halt as they nearly collided into an imperceptible wall. The only telling sign that it was there was a familiar looking man with a cap pulled low under the raised hood of a red coat. The Players could not see any visible signs of the tribal wings that had been exposed yesterday, but there was no doubt about it; this was a Reaper.

"You the same chump from yesterday?" Kariya asked bluntly, resulting in a raised eyebrow from the guardian of Molco.

"Nope. Must have been another Support Reaper."

"Support? Guess Reapers come in all flavors," Higashizawa commented. Kariya shrugged, as did Higashizawa before he turned back to the Reaper. "All right, spill the beans. What do we need to do to get past your barrier?"

"If you want past this barrier, clear all the Noise out of Spain Hill."

"ALL the Noise?" Kariya asked disbelieving. "That's gonna take forever!"

"Can't eat barbeque if you never put it on the grill," Higashizawa offered. Kariya rolled his eyes and stuck one of his recently purchased lollipops in his mouth.

"All right, we had better get started then." Kariya took his Player pin out of his pocket and gripped it. Touching it, his world went hazy as color disappeared and his mind went blue, save the loud thoughts of nearby pedestrians and the brightly colored Noise that spewed from a negative few. Kariya dashed at each of the floating symbols, tagging them and unleashing the monsters hidden within.

"Let's begin the feast," Higashizawa licked his lips as the prey appeared. There were three red crabs with strange blue patterns adorning their shells, four black ravens with a bluish hue, and four blue jellyfish hovering slowly above the ground from a distance. They seemed harmless enough, but Kariya had no desire to prove this assessment wrong.

"Don't give them a chance!" Kariya yelled, his hands cracking with electricity. He quickly emptied his pockets of all of his pins (save his Player's pin) and equipped them to the sleeve of his arm. "I didn't try any of these pins out yesterday except Hounder Magnum. Time to level up!" Apparently, it was enough simply to wear the pins, for the electricity that Kariya threw went in the same divided direction as it had yesterday while he was holding Hounder Magnum. One of the ravens were grazed by said power, but the other three hovered above it, a wicked expression blazing in their respective eyes.

"Duck!" Higashizawa yelled as the flying Noise swooped upon them. The Players hit the ground in defense, but clearly there was a forgotten element to this fight.

"Fuck me!" Kariya screamed furiously at their mistake as the crab Noise furiously pinched him and his partner. Kariya felt his jeans tear open as red blood mixed with faded blue. Higashizawa was faring far worse though as the crabs clawed his neck and the ravens flocked above him, pecking indiscriminately at his chest.

"Higashizawa!" Kariya cried alarmed, but he could clearly see his partner's strength was fading away as he struggled to get up. Kariya looked at his pins desperately. He knew what none of them did, but he recognized one of them clearly. Though most of his pins he possessed came into his possession after he had died, this one pin had been with him while he was alive. "Whatever you do, save us." Kariya tapped it with his eyes closed, and released his electricity.

The loudest crash Kariya had ever known echoed throughout Shibuya, yet it rang strongly like a bell, as a massive chain made entirely of electricity obliterated all of the ravens and crabs that were attacking Higashizawa and Kariya. Was it a power given to him by God? Kariya did not know, but energy surged through him as all of the aggressive Noise disappeared in the blind of an eye. Only a few blue mollified jellyfish remained in the background. Kariya ignored them and focused his attention on his partner.

Other than his massive form and distinctive dreads, Higashizawa bore little semblance to how he had been prior to the attack. His skin was colored red with his blood, his flesh stripped in various areas and punctured in others. A particularly nasty hole fell under his heart, and as he coughed up blood, Kariya realized a lung had been punctured.

"I'm sorry, Kariya," Higashizawa coughed, tears clearing up his skin slightly. "I …fucked up. Guess that…is just how the cookie crumbles." Kariya shook his head quickly.

"You aint't done, dammit! There's gotta be something I can do!" Kariya looked at his pins quickly, including the two extras in his pockets. He had a total of six, not including his player pin. Two of them were clearly offensive, which meant that of his four remaining pins, one could potentially provide assistance. Kariya read the labels on the backs of them quickly.

"Cure Drink!" He exclaimed, eagerly grabbing a pin that depicted an orange soda can. Pressing it to Higashizawa, Kariya felt his energy sapped as his partner gasped, his open flash mending itself with miraculous efficiency. Kariya could see the fatal wound on his lung sealing up, but it was not enough. "Again!" Kariya exclaimed, and pressing it to Higashizawa once again, the healing was complete. Kariya collapsed to the ground exhausted as Higashizawa weakly pulled himself to his knees.

"Kariya…you saved my life."

"Don't…mention it," Kariya panted, wiping sweat from his brow. As he brought his hand down, he looked at the time and swore. "We've gotta hurry it up! We've got an hour left and who knows what kinda shit these Reapers are going to throw at us before we get to our destination?"

"Damn, you're right. Let's finish these guys off!" Higashizawa and Kariya stood up and turned to face the last remaining jellyfish, but fell back in horror.

"What the hell?" Kariya felt winded as an army of angry jellyfish hummed in the distance. Previously there had only been a few blue jellyfish, but now there were numerous red ones as well. He watched with a mixture of disgust and fascination as one of the blue jellies squirmed awkwardly before splitting into two separate jellyfish, the clone red.

"Of course! Jellyfish are asexual!" Higashizawa swore.

"That was my bad. I should have dealt with them before they started this crap," Kariya apologized. Higashizawa shook his head.

"You were busy saving my life. I'm grateful for that. Now, let's go nuts on these guys! I'm always in the mood for a peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich!" Higashizawa charged at them yelling wildly, determined to make up for his weakness before. Kariya just shook his head.

"Jellyfish sandwich? Lame…" He muttered, but grinning in spite of himself, he chased after his partner. Higashizawa was charging so quickly that dust was left in his tracks, and before he connected with the enemy Noise, Kariya was certain he saw a pin on Higashizawa's breast shimmer.

"Let's mash 'em!" Higashizawa exclaimed, connecting powerfully with the jellyfish. Multiple jellyfish flew backwards and maimed other jellyfish, resulting in a domino effect in which each and every jellyfish sustained damage to a degree, despite the overwhelming number of foes.

"Nice! Let's finish them off!"

"Rare?" Higashizawa asked, squashing a red jellyfish with ease, ignoring the blistering sores that sprouted up on his hands.

"Nope."

"Medium?" Higashizawa pushed the Noise together, rounding them up to their confusion.

"Nope."

"Well done?" Higashizawa jumped back as Kariya grinned.

"Bingo." Kariya released the same energy that had annihilated the crab and raven Noise prior to Higashizawa's recovery. The jellyfish, despite their regenerative skills and naturally resilient bodies, were by no means immune to the fate that had befallen their Noise counterparts. Deconstructed down to the last particle, oblivion was the final fate for all the Noise of Spain Hill. Kariya and Higashizawa did not celebrate this hard-earned victory; however, they raced to the Reaper.

"Open up, mother fucker!" Kariya exclaimed. The Reaper looked annoyed, but complied with the snap of his fingers. Higashizawa charged through the remains of the invisible wall before it had even completely disintegrated, shattering the supernatural matter in his haste. Kariya followed after him and the duo sprinted through Shibuya. Running through Molco, straight past the Shibu Department Store, and into the scramble crossing, the duo finally arrived at their destination.

"If we're wrong about this, we're boned," Higashizawa muttered, but Kariya shook his head.

"We're right. Sr. Kikuchi made us realize the truth. Everyone converges at the scramble crossing and can see anything and everything they wish through the jumbo televisions. Now let's scan and be done with this damn day."

Higashizawa nodded and acquiesced. Scanning the television, a Noise symbol appeared over an ad depicting Mus Rattus apparel. A tribal arm reached through the television, extending towards the Players.

"Let's stay cool as a cucumber and finish this!" Higashizawa exclaimed as the final Noise jumped through. A golden grizzly bear with black stripes, a white underbelly, and oddly jointed tribal arms landed in front of the Players with an almighty roar. Kariya felt a chill creep down his neck as the beast snapped its jaws at them, saliva flying in all directions. Even though his enemy wasn't sophisticated enough to understand an insult, Kariya still felt the illogical need to poke fun at the brute. Pinching his nose, Kariya looked at Higashizawa.

"Pee-yew! You smell that? This guy needs a breath mint!" The Noise swiped Kariya in the chest with its arm, sending him flying into the ground.

"Needs some table manners too!" Higashizawa cried back to him, his belt glowing and doubling his size. The bear tried to swipe him too, but the gargantuan man caught the attack and locked arms with the Noise, pushing it back. Instinctively recognizing a challenge of strength, the bear locked its legs up and held firm, wrestling Kariya's partner back.

"Higashizawa!" Kariya yelled, but his partner shook his head adamantly.

"I've got this!" Higashizawa stubbornly proclaimed, and his muscles bulged as the bear found itself on the defensive once again. Its knees buckled, and the bear went crashing to the ground. Realizing its inferiority in terms of strength, the Noise slashed at Higashizawa with its deadly claws, but it was too late. Having won a wrestling match with a grizzly bear (Noise), Higashizawa was satisfied, and Kariya was now free to engage as well.

"Gotcha!" Kariya sent his electrical blasts towards the bear, scoring a direct hit on its chest. The bear tumbled in agony and Higashizawa, eager to be done with the day, jumped high in the air. The bear's eyes went wide before they exploded under the pressure of Higashizawa's feet.

"Success!" Kariya yelled in triumph.

"And just in the nick of time too!" Higashizawa added, looking down at his timer that had two minutes remaining. The timer blinked and ended with the completion of this mission, and Kariya high fived his partner with joy.

"So tell me," Higashizawa said after the adrenaline slowly faded, "how are you able to produce such powerful electric blasts now?" Kariya removed a pin off of his shirt and handed it to Higashizawa.

"King Arthur," Higashizawa read the label before staring at Kariya. "I've heard of this pin! It's supposed to be incredibly rare!"

"It is, my friend," Kariya said, taking it back from his partner. "And apparently, it's one of the more powerful pins here in the UG."

"But how did you wind up with a pin like that? Surely the Reapers wouldn't just give away a pin like that for nothing…" Kariya laughed loudly.

"Those cheapskates? Nah, I won this pin."

"Won it?"

"Yessir! Ya see…before I died, I was a professional gambler." Higashizawa's eyes widened at this.

"You? You don't look like a gambler to me," he said, to which Kariya burst out laughing.

"And how do you think a gambler is supposed to look? Trust me Higashizawa, my skills are next to none and the adrenaline it gives me surpasses any drug or sex addiction that this world could offer."

"Is that how you died?" Higashizawa perceptively questioned. Kariya's eyes flashed angrily behind his glasses, but the moment passed and he laughed a chilling laugh.

"Yep. I wagered my life on a bet and I lost it. Extreme gambling. Have you ever experienced it before?"

"Can't say I have," Higashizawa replied, but Kariya cut him off with a violent head gesture.

"Oh, but you have! The Reapers' Game! This is the deadliest gamble I have ever participated in! Not only are our lives at stake, our very SOULS are on the line! Can't you feel it! What a fuckin' rush!"

"Kariya…"

* * *

_"Mr. Kitaniji, it would seem that no Player was erased today," Konishi reported to the Conductor with a stoic continence, though her wavering voice betrayed her. _

_"Wonderful! A Game is only enjoyable if someone survives to change the tide," replied Kitaniji who clasped his hands together with enthusiasm._

_"They have not won the Game yet," Konishi muttered resentfully, though Kitaniji ignored this comment. _

_"What do their pin decks currently consist of? I'm curious as to what their strategies are."_

_"Koki Kariya makes use of an electric theme deck, and though he is best suited for long range combat, he has a lot of versatility with close-handed combat. One of our Support Reapers saw him use electricity to amplify his physical attacks and incapacitate a Garage Wolf. His deck currently consists of the pins __Hounder Magnum, Cure Drink, King Arthur, and Top Gear."_

_"King Arthur? Kariya really is an interesting character…and what of his partner?" Kitaniji asked._

_"Yodai Higashizawa is primarily an offensive tank, though he definitely has enough intelligence to compensate this narrow focus. Close-range is obviously his speciality, though he can be an effective mid-range attacker as well. His deck currently consists of the pins Velocity Tackle, Meteor Hook, Kinetic Warning, and Ohabari." _

_"I see. The very mechanics of the Game requiring Players to partner up are what allow this brute force strategy of his to work in the first place. They are both some very skilled opponents, Konishi. You had better be careful."_

_"Yes, sir," Konishi replied._

_"Now tell me about the other two Players still remaining in the game. What do you know about them?"_

_"Well…"_

* * *

**Author's Note: I was hoping to update this series once a month, but with the bombardment of fans demanding updates from my other series, this one will progress more slowly. Never fear; I will get around to updating this one again eventually. If you enjoyed it, the best incentive you can give me is a review, favorite, and follow. As always, thanks for reading!**

**Crow**


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